Hi Shelving EQ at 12kHz – Our 802-VLZ3 mixers have Hi Shelving EQ at 12kHz instead of 10kHz. A gentle 12k boost adds detail and sheen (without aural fatigue). Cutting at 12k can take a harsh edge off a sound without emasculating it.

Lo EQ with firm foundations – Down there at the bottom, our 802-VLZ3s have 80Hz Lo Shelving EQ instead of the tubby boom and bonk of 100Hz EQ. 80Hz gives you more control over deep, fundamental bass that's produced by kick drums, floor toms, bass guitar, and low synth sounds. You can add depth and richness to male vocals, fatten up guitar sounds and create ear-stomping dance mixes.

Midrange done right – We located the fixed peaking Mid EQ on our 802-VLZ3 mixers at 2.5kHz because that’s a far more musical point than the 1kHz many other mixers use. 2.5kHz interacts with and enhances the harmonics of the human voice and many instruments, including guitar, reeds, horns, and keyboards. At 1k, a boost adds a gradual "hollowness," as if the sounds were coming through a cardboard tube. As you continue to boost the 1k, the sound becomes strident and fatiguing. A 2.5k boost adds a brisk clarity of tone that enhances instead of hurts. Gently cutting 2.5kHz mid EQ de-emphasizes an instrument or vocal without radically altering its sound.

The midrange is wider than many of our competitors’ mid EQs, too. Narrow EQ curves create an unnatural, intrusive effect that's not good for much except drastic corrections. The wider a midrange peak is, the more natural it sounds. The broad midrange EQ curve found on our 802-VLZ3 mixers lets you actually use mid EQ as a creative enhancement, instead of as an audio “bandage.”

We improved the interaction of the separate EQ bands:

Shelving equalization found in many mixers gives you an unpleasant bonus in the midrange—when you boost high or low shelving EQ, the midrange gets boosted, too. When you add high- or low-end, you also hear more midrange. So you boost the shelving EQ more. Which boosts the midrange more, etc. This is a vicious cycle. Through careful circuit design and higher quality components, our 802-VLZ3 mixers avoid Hi/Lo-Mid interaction problems. If you want high or low shelving EQ, that's ALL you get. It's a difference you’ll come to appreciate.